The Newest French-Girl Fitness Craze Involves a Skateboard and a Piano

For the French It girls, among them Léa Seydoux, Joséphine de la Baume, and Soko, who work out with personal trainer, pianist, and former pole-vault champion Raphael Doub, a private session could mean running, swimming, juggling, TRX—or, for the very brave, mountain climbing (he often organizes group trips to the Alps). And that’s exactly what he wants, something completely and totally unexpected. In fact, Doub’s latest surprise involves a rather peculiar new fitness prop—his Penny skateboard.

Always seeking to pique the curiosity of his clients, all of whom he trains in their homes or outdoors in public spaces, the inventive instructor made a guinea pig out of his longtime trainee Sarah Andelman, founder of Paris’s cult concept store Colette. The moves he has developed, which he recently tried first with Andelman, include the Rocky Squat for the glutes, thighs, and calves; the Dynamic Pullover for the back and upper arms; and the Lunge on Wheels for toning the legs.

“It strengthens the core muscles and enhances posture,” he says of the workout. “In pole vaulting there is a huge stress on the importance of a stable equilibrium, and it’s really the same idea that exists in the skateboard exercises, because when you’re wobbly, you quickly ignite your muscles to tone in a more natural way than they would with regular weights.”

Andelman suggested that Doub teach four skateboard classes in collaboration with Colette Gym, a fitness program offered by the store with monthly classes at Éléphant Paname studio in Paris. Anyone can sign up online, and since this space happens to have a piano, students have the pleasure of listening to Doub play ballads while they stretch at the end of the workout (he is also trained in music therapy, a key ingredient in his private sessions).

Though there’s only one more session left, on May 18, Doub is confident that the playfulness of his skateboard routine might just catch on. “I don’t believe in being repetitive; I believe in the fun factor, in keeping things interesting,” he says, “and that’s what people really want out of fitness right now.” Here’s to getting fit while staying out of the box, and on wheels, ahead of summer.